John Gillispie: Relive exciting racing story from the 1970s with ‘Rush’

Movies & More reviewer John Gillispie thinks "Rush," which is rated R and directed by Ron Howard, is an interesting look into the world of racing and the competition between James Hunt and Niki Lauda to be the 1976 Formula One World Champion.

Ron Howard has directed an exciting film about the 1970s world of Formula One and Formula Three racing and two drivers who are shown approaching their work from totally different perspectives.

Most of "Rush" focuses on the 1976 Formula One season and the championship race between defending champion Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth).

The movie "Rush" depicts Lauda as a very serious man while Hunt is shown celebrating, drinking and spending time with beautiful women. Yet, when it comes down to racing, the film shows us that both men had a passion for their sport and wanted to win.

Since the film is telling the story of real people, many viewers may already know the outcome of the 1976 season. But, the film can be looked at on another level. We are shown two very different men, who don't really seem to like each other at times, who motivate each other to bring their best to their sport. We also see the men come to respect each other as well.

The film also looks at the personal lives of the two racers. Alexandra Maria Lara plays Lauda's wife Marlene and Olivia Wilde plays Hunt's wife Suzy. Both women are good in their roles.

I thought the several races depicted seemed realistic and were edited in such a way as to hold the viewer's attention. Even though I thought the racing scenes were exciting, I found myself to be more interested in how the two men could overcome their differences in order to find respect and admiration for each other.

John Gillispie is the public relations director for the Huntington Museum of Art. Contact the writer at jgillisp@hmoa.org.

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John Gillispie: Relive exciting racing story from the 1970s with ‘Rush’